Cougars trounce Cardinals

Junior Hunter Johnson rushed for 275 yards as Mabel-Canton defeated LeRoy-Ostrander 52-14 on Sept. 28. The Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball in the second half on their way to the blow-out victory over the visiting Cardinals, who have yet to win a nine-man game over M-C in 10 tries.

It was the first win of the season for the Cougars (1-4, 1-3 SEC).

In a career-high rushing night, Johnson scored four touchdowns on scampers of 15, 23, 5 and 85 yards. He also ran for a two-point conversion and kicked two extra points. Among his 24 carries, Johnson had seven runs for double-digit yardage. Blocking was provided by offensive linemen Jordan Magnuson, Logan Henry, Mason Henry, Mac Nelson and Donnie Lind.

M-C drove 54 and 67 yards on their first two possessions on the way to a 12-0 lead. L-O (2-3, 1-3 SEC) stayed in the contest with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, trading scores with the Cougars, who took a 26-14 lead into the locker room. After the break, the Cougars gave up only 63 yards while shutting out the Cardinals in second half.

The Cardinals could not stop M-C in the second half. The Cougars scored on four drives of 74, 21, 54 and 64 yards. They then drove 39 yards to L-O's 19 yard-line late in the game, taking a knee as time expired. M-C had no turnovers and punted only once, after holding the 'Cards on downs at M-C's 4 yard-line.

There were three Cardinal turnovers including a fumble recovery and an interception ran back to the L-O 21 by Noah Manning. Johnson picked off an L-O pass on the last play of the first half.

Jace Bunne led L-O in rushing with 56 yards including a 6-yard TD. The sophomore QB was also 7-for-16 through the air for 72 yards including a 13-yard TD pass to Tony Steinkamp. Nate Bunne caught three passes and also completed one.

In total, M-C rushed for 438 yards and outgained L-O overall 494 yards to 213. After only one win in 2011, the 'Cards came into the game with 2-2 record.

Up next:

Mabel-Canton travels to Lyle-Pacelli on Oct. 5. The following week, the Cougars will celebrate homecoming as they host Glenville-Emmons.